We want to give you advance notice of a pricing change that Meta is rolling out across the WhatsApp Business Platform. This change comes directly from Meta — not from Cheerio AI — and applies to every business on WhatsApp, regardless of which Business Solution Provider (BSP) they use. As your partner, we did not ask for this, and we don't stand to gain anything from it. Our job here is simply to make sure you understand what's changing, when it takes effect, and what you need to do to avoid any disruption to your customer conversations.
What's changing
Today, when your team (or a 3rd-party AI tool) replies to a customer within the 24-hour customer service window, that reply — called a service message — is free. Similarly, when you send a utility message (like an order confirmation) in response to a customer within that same window, it's also currently free.
Meta is ending both of these free allowances.
Effective October 1, 2026: (Link to official Meta document)
Meta will start charging per message for all service messages sent to your customers. These have been free since November 1, 2024.
Meta will start charging per message for utility messages sent in response to a customer within an open 24-hour customer service window. These have been free since July 1, 2025.
This is a platform-level decision by Meta, applied uniformly to every business and every BSP — Cheerio included. We're communicating it now so you have over a month to prepare.
A quick refresher: what are service and utility messages?
Utility messages | Service messages | |
|---|---|---|
Purpose | Reaching out to a customer with a template-based update (e.g. order confirmation) | Responding to a customer's message |
Format | Template message | Non-template (free-form) message |
When it can be sent | At any time | Only within an open 24-hour customer service window |
Who sends it | Triggered by your business | A person on your team, or a 3rd-party AI solution |
Charged today? | Only when sent outside a response window | No |
Charged from Oct 1, 2026? | Yes, in all cases | Yes |
A quick note on service messages: this category covers any free-form reply to a customer that isn't powered by Meta's own AI agent product — so whether your team is replying manually or through an AI solution like Cheerio, it falls under this category and will be charged the same way.
Why this matters for you
Nothing changes about how you use Cheerio. Your workflows, automations, and conversations stay exactly the same. The only change is that Cheerio AI will now bill you for the message delivery itself, in addition to any Template Messages or AI Agent usage costs you may already be incurring.
Rates will follow existing utility/authentication pricing. Meta has confirmed that service message rates will match current utility and authentication message rates in your market. Meta will publish the exact rates that take effect October 1, 2026 by September 1, 2026.
No volume tiers on service messages. Unlike utility and authentication messages, Meta will not offer volume-based discount tiers for service messages.
Only one charge per message, ever. A message is billed once, under one category. There's no risk of being double-charged for a single conversation reply.
The 72-hour Free Entry Point (FEP) window is untouched. If a conversation starts from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook CTA button, messages sent within that 72-hour window remain free for delivery — this hasn't changed.
A simple example
Imagine a customer messages you asking about product availability, your team (or AI agent) replies, and you later send them an order confirmation — all within the same hour.
Sender | Message | Type | Charged before Oct 1, 2026? | Charged from Oct 1, 2026? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
You | Reply to customer's question | Service message | No | Yes |
You | Order confirmation | Utility message (in-window) | No | Yes |
Previously, both of these were free. From October 1, 2026, both will carry a per-message charge from Meta.
Where this is coming from
This is a Meta pricing decision, applied platform-wide. It is not something Cheerio has introduced, and we have no ability to opt out of it on your behalf, since Meta bills WhatsApp Business Accounts for message delivery regardless of which BSP facilitates the conversation. We're sharing this now, ahead of the deadline, because we'd rather you hear it clearly from us with time to act, than be caught off guard by a service interruption in October.
Questions?
If you have questions about your account's payment method status, expected costs, or how this affects your specific use case, reach out to your Cheerio account manager and we'll walk you through it.
